E-Paper
Seven-fold rise in Covid cases sets alarm bells ringing in Panchkula
The Panchkula district witnessed seven-fold spike in Covid-19 cases within the month of March, for which the authorities are already working on war footing
The Panchkula district witnessed seven-fold spike in Covid-19 cases within the month of March, for which the authorities are already working on war footing.
The number started increasing steadily in February, but the major surge was seen last month. Till March end, the Covid count rose to 2,185, a figure that was just 304 in February.
The active cases have increased 7.3% within a month. On March 1, out of 10,844 positive cases, only 124 were active, whereas the number increased to 953 out of 13,029 by March 31.
The recovery rate reduced by 7%, as it was 97% in the beginning of the month and reduced to 90% by the March’s end.
It was in September last year when Covid-19 cases were at peak that the district had reported 3,762 cases whereas this year, in March itself, over 2,000 cases have been logged.
House-to-house surveillance to begin at 17 hotspots
The Panchkula administration has identified 17 hotspots, out of which 13 have been declared as surveillance zones.
“The hotspots are increasing daily for the last two to three days. Today, four sectors – 4, 2 A, 20 and 21 — were declared as hotspots. It was decided in a meeting with the DC that house-to-house surveillance will begin,” said civil surgeon Dr Saroj.
“In every sector, there will be four teams which would make a list of people with symptoms. The next day, our teams will do their Covid-19 tests,” she added.
The doctor shared that in one of the prominent schools, at least seven students tested positive on Thursday, which has raised the safety concerns.
“We are working on war footing to trace the infected people and get them tested as soon as possible. Also, we are planning to reach out to people via Google Meet in a bid to make them aware of the importance of masks and social distancing,” the doctor said.
